A Serious January 2014 Banlist Discussion

[Zauls]

So the time has come again, and this is normally when I start getting interested in Yu-Gi-Oh again. I kinda stopped caring when I heard about Pokemon X and Y and I didn't like Dragon Rulers' total dominance of the format, so I didn't play much of this game. But when Banlist season comes around it actually gets interesting.

So, as always, I have made my banlist predictions/wants and I thought it would be worth posting because so far the only banlist thread YCM has come up with is totally retarded (surprise, surprise). This is for serious discussion based on the meta only...

 

The list I created is a combination of actual predictions and things I think would make the game better, and I will try my best to make a distinction between the two. Cards on the list that are just wants will be in italics.

 

So, without further ado...

 

[spoiler=Banlist]

Banned:

(From Limited):

Return from the Different Dimension

Sixth Sense

Limiter Removal

Spellbook of Fate

 

Limited:

(From Banned):

Elemental HERO Stratos

Sinister Serpent

Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

Solemn Judgment

 

(From Unlimited):

Abyss Sphere

Dragon Ravine

Sacred Sword of Seven Stars
Number 11: Big Eye Scream Cone

Vanity’s Emptiness

Skill Drain

Royal Decree

Rekindling

Evilswarm Ophion

Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 “Burei”

 

(From Semi-Limited):

Debris Dragon

 

 

Semi-Limited:

(From Limited):

Chaos Sorcerer

Gladiator Beast Bestiari

Gold Sarcophagus

One for One

Rescue Rabbit

Book of Moon

Formula Synchron

 

(From Unlimited):

Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders

Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos

Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls

Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms

E – Emergency Call

 

Unlimited:

(From Banned):

Glow-Up Bulb

 

(From Limited):

Burial from a Different Dimension

The Transmigration Prophecy

Wall of Revealing Light

Neo-Spacian Grand Mole

Thunder King Rai-Oh

Monster Gate

 

(From Semi-Limited):

T.G. Striker

Advanced Ritual Art

Magical Stone Excavation

Reasoning

[/Spoiler]

 

[Spoiler=Explanations]

A lot of the choices are fairly self-explanatory and don't need explanation, but I will explain the less obvious ones.

Limiter Removal - With the new Cyber Dragon and Geargia support coming out, I thought it would be better safe than sorry to say goodbye to this as it is obviously an OTK out of nowhere for those decks and is very degenerate. It is only a want as Konami will probably keep it around to push sales for the new stuff.

Spellbook of Fate - Most people will say banning it is too far, but I disagree. I hit this card in particular for Spellbooks because it creates a horrible game state where you have to play entire matches just playing around one card, and that card is just always there and always searchable, and its just plain broken. If it was just limited, Spellbooks still have the search/recycling power to get this thing back at least once every couple of turns, so limiting it would not be enough. It is broken, the rulings on it suck, it is quick-play (arguably the best card type in the game) and is waaay to versatile.

Skill Drain and Decree - Putting an curb on the "you can't play Yu-Gi-Oh any more" cards is something I strongly agree with, so limiting these along with the already limited Soul Drain, Macro and D-Fissure makes sense. Emptiness is more obvious but is there for basically the same reason.

Burei - I specifically predict a hit for this card so Konami can promote new ways of playing Geargia that don't revolve around spamming this guy with Karakuris. It would be the most profitable way for Konami to hit what would be a big threat post-January.

Trishula - The OCG got it back so its just a prediction really. I'm undecided as to whether it would be good or not. That being said, the decks that play it are generally non-linear and skill-based, so its a tricky one really.

Sinister Serpent - People will unthinkably scream "Mermail" as soon as they see this, but Mermails want to discard stuff that actually activates effects and furthers their game plan. You would rather see Serpent discarded from your opponent's hand than Dragoons or Gunde. Also, I've hit Mermails a bit anyway, so they could use a little something.

Glow-Up Bulb - Unlimiting a card straight from banned has never happened before, so this won't happen, but Bulb could in theory come back with Dragons gone, and it wouldn't make things all that broken, I think. Again, hard to predict the impact it would have.

 

I hit the Dragons the way I did so that the deck itself is dead, but the individual Rulers can still be splashed as an engine for otherwise mediocre decks, making them better. I don't think they would break anything if they were all at 2.

Most of the unlimits are stuff that shouldn't be there in the first place, or Konami seems to have forgotten they existed.

[/Spoiler]

 

This isn't quite perfect and is far from what the list actually will be, but theory is fun.

[mido9]

best tag NA

[goddamnit names are a pain]

I actually agree with most of the stuff on this list. I expect T.G. Striker to go Unlimited, very soon. I hope for a Formula Bump, but that may not happen simply because you draw 1. Ok, there's probable more logic behind it.

Dragons may be slowed down at 2, but they are far from dead. I don't think Debris should be hit as a result, but then again, I only run one, and DR seem to run that thing at 2 like no tomorrow. Unfortunately, Glow Up at 2 sounds like a bad idea due to them, and the rise of plants. I could see one happening in the future. Don't see anything wrong with One for One, but Konami is probably too lazy to remove it from limited. Burial from a Different Dimension should never hit 3. Dragon Rulers, Dark Armed, etc. But I don't know who would tech 3, so its safe to say 2 shouldn't happen either. Neo-Spacian Grand Mole and

Thunder King Rai-Oh are trolly cards, with the latter shutting down whole decks. 3 is a bad idea for them too. I could see 2 Rai Oh, maybe. While Prophecy are a thing, and it could have bad uses in normal decks, I agree with you on Magical Stone Excavation simply because it has a rather large cost and no on techs 2 to begin with. Honestly, I think E Drags and E Teleport should be at one for what they do. This would kill many decks though, so maybe not a great idea. Rescue at 2 sounds terrible, no offense. Skill Drain being limited somewhat makes sense, but it takes away all that stun/anti meta decks were.  2 sounds ok though. I think the same of Royal, except I think it should stay at 3. One, not everyone runs traps. This card could be a dead draw, etc in that case. The player himself may choose not to run traps, so this card is a tactical play, forgive me.

Isn't there a way to hit Fire Fist/Mermail at all/harder? Rooster, Abysslinde, etc.

Me being me, I want Limiter and Sixth too stay. Limiter is easier to argue for, but meh.

 

[Zauls]

I actually agree with most of the stuff on this list. I expect T.G. Striker to go Unlimited, very soon. I hope for a Formula Bump, but that may not happen simply because you draw 1. Ok, there's probable more logic behind it.

Dragons may be slowed down at 2, but they are far from dead. I don't think Debris should be hit as a result, but then again, I only run one, and DR seem to run that thing at 2 like no tomorrow. Unfortunately, Glow Up at 2 sounds like a bad idea due to them, and the rise of plants. I could see one happening in the future. Don't see anything wrong with One for One, but Konami is probably too lazy to remove it from limited. Burial from a Different Dimension should never hit 3. Dragon Rulers, Dark Armed, etc. But I don't know who would tech 3, so its safe to say 2 shouldn't happen either. Neo-Spacian Grand Mole and

Thunder King Rai-Oh are trolly cards, with the latter shutting down whole decks. 3 is a bad idea for them too. I could see 2 Rai Oh, maybe. While Prophecy are a thing, and it could have bad uses in normal decks, I agree with you on Magical Stone Excavation simply because it has a rather large cost and no on techs 2 to begin with. Honestly, I think E Drags and E Teleport should be at one for what they do. This would kill many decks though, so maybe not a great idea. Rescue at 2 sounds terrible, no offense. Skill Drain being limited somewhat makes sense, but it takes away all that stun/anti meta decks were.  2 sounds ok though. I think the same of Royal, except I think it should stay at 3. One, not everyone runs traps. This card could be a dead draw, etc in that case. The player himself may choose not to run traps, so this card is a tactical play, forgive me.

Isn't there a way to hit Fire Fist/Mermail at all/harder? Rooster, Abysslinde, etc.

Me being me, I want Limiter and Sixth too stay. Limiter is easier to argue for, but meh.

 

I personally don't see why Dragons shouldn't be allowed to stay alive, just not in the current way that they are. With the Dragons at 2, the deck will run out of resources much more quickly and the rest of the hits (1 Big Eye, 1 Sword, 1 Debris, 0 Return, 0 Sixth Sense) will keep them from dominating and some. This list will probably give rise to a Dragon Plant build, which I can see being skilful, not broken and not dominant, but I limited Debris partly for that reason and partly because I predict a Trishula return. The way I see things, Dragons will still be competitive, but so will a lot of other things.

Bulb is skilful in the sense that you have to know exactly when to use it as it can only be used once. It is a resource that has to be managed effectively. I also don't see it causing any broken plays if it came back. 1 Debris and still 1 Lonefire will curb plants enough so I can safely bring Bulb back.

D.D. Burial was a bit of an afterthought for me when I was scanning the list for random stuff that shouldn't be on there. Now I've thought about it, the card has the potential to be abused so maybe 3 was a bit much. I will put it down to 2.

Mole and Rai-oh have never been problems and when Rai-oh was at 3, it made little difference. Mole uses your Normal Summon, doesn't fit into all that many decks, and is easy as hell to play round. It would see more play as a side-deck card against specific stuff, which is actually good for the game. Rai-oh was never a problem at 3 and was only hit so Konami could push Prophecy. It is just a good solid card for a lot of decks/side-decks and isn't broken in any way. I believe these cards are both good for the game.

Rabbit at 2 may be a bit too good in a slower format, who knows. Macro Rabbit would be a bit of a thing again, and it gives Evilswarm something back for losing 2 Ophion. I also predict it so Konami can push sales for anything vanilla-based in the future. Remember, predictions are not necesarrily based on what is best for the game.

I don't think Skill Drain is good for the game. It does what it says; it drains skill. Its just a "flip this card to stop your opponent playing Yu-Gi-Oh" thing, which isn't healthy and demotes player interaction and effective resource management. Decree is the same thing, and your argument is invalid because who the hell sides in Decree/doesn't side it out playing against a deck with few traps. We have enough balanced Spell/Trap hate in the game that doesn't promote skill-less overextension and wasteful playing.

I don't see Fire Fist needing much of a hit. Maybe Bear to 2 at most, but I don't see them being too bad for the game.

Mermail took enough of a hit with 1 Sphere and 1 Big Eye. They already lost 2 Divas and 2 Dragoons before, so I think they're safe for now.

I'm not going to talk about Sixth Sense.

Limiter will probably stay to push sales of upcoming stuff like Geargia and Cyber Dragons, but it really shouldn't.

[mido9]

I dunno about you but I sure as f*** wouldnt want tidal mermail, blaster firefists, tempest dragunity and redox karakuri to stay a thing. Goddamn those things are spam happy.

[Thomas★Zero]

[spoiler=Banlist]
Banned:
(From Limited):
Return from the Different Dimension - Good
Sixth Sense - Good
Limiter Removal - Makes sense with all of the cyber dragon stuff
Spellbook of Fate - Its an okay choice though Tower to 1 or 0 would of made scene as it would of slowed the deck down enough for it not to be a crazy draw engine
 
Limited:
(From Banned):
Elemental HERO Stratos - Would love to see this back
Sinister Serpent - I don't know myself if it would come back but would be interesting
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier - Oh god I would be scared if this comes back
Solemn Judgment - Good
 
(From Unlimited):
Abyss Sphere - Good
Dragon Ravine - Good to keep Dragons under control
Sacred Sword of Seven Stars - Wouldn't be seen as a likely hit if you take all the D.R.'s down to 2
Number 11: Big Eye Scream Cone - I see what you did their
Vanity’s Emptiness - Yeah I never liked that card for its annoying occurrences  <_<
Skill Drain - Interesting choice
Royal Decree - Interesting choice
Rekindling - Killing the Quasar summoning combos would be good for game
Evilswarm Ophion - Would be good but I don't know about the likeliness of it
Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 “Burei” - Seems fair based on preventing any additional summoning spams with other copies
 
(From Semi-Limited):
Debris Dragon - good
 
 
Semi-Limited:
(From Limited):
Chaos Sorcerer - okay
Gladiator Beast Bestiari - okay
Gold Sarcophagus - I don't know about this being back at 2 with D.R.'s about
One for One - Okay
Rescue Rabbit - IDK about this one
Book of Moon - Yes
Formula Synchron - Not while we still have Hyper Liberian lurking about
 
(From Unlimited):
Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders - Good
Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos - Good
Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Good
Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms - Good
E – Emergency Call - Not a problem for myself
 
Unlimited:
(From Banned):
Glow-Up Bulb - I know its a once per duel effect but a 3 would seem a little iffy for how it would have a high chance of drawing into one
 
(From Limited):
Burial from a Different Dimension - Not while D.R.'s are about
The Transmigration Prophecy - Okay
Wall of Revealing Light - Not sure about this due to Exodia Builds
Neo-Spacian Grand Mole - IDK about this card being at 3 due to its effect
Thunder King Rai-Oh - I doubt it
Monster Gate - IDK
 
(From Semi-Limited):
T.G. Striker - Okay
Advanced Ritual Art - Okay
Magical Stone Excavation - Good
Reasoning - Okay
[/spoiler]

I have to give this list a 9/10 only due to some of the points I made out in the list and the lack of Judgement Dragon being at one due to the new Lightsworn support.

[Zauls]

I dunno about you but I sure as f*** wouldnt want tidal mermail, blaster firefists, tempest dragunity and redox karakuri to stay a thing. Goddamn those things are spam happy.

 

I've given some of those decks hits anyway ie. Sphere to 1, Ravine to 1 and Burei to 1, so that will curb them for now. I do kinda feel like I need to do something to Fire Fists. I might put Tenki to 1 because that serves as a hit to Constellar as well, which I also haven't really touched. Also, if RotA is at 1, why isn't Tenki.

 

Kingdom neos:

 

Your point about Bulb is irrelevant as its a once per duel effect, meaning only 1 was/is ever played. <- Coming from someone who played Plants for nearly 2 years.

I will probably put Formula back to 1 since I would be giving Plants a little too much back. I seem to have been slightly biased with that choice.

As stated before, I think Mole is perfectly balanced and good for the game.

Gold Sarc woudln't be much of an issue as the searched Ruler would then not be able to search again because the Rulers are semi'd. It would just be a good thing to play in a couple of decks that include Dragons.

Trish is staying because I think it will come back, not because I want it to.

[Daigusto Sphreez]

So the time has come again, and this is normally when I start getting interested in Yu-Gi-Oh again. I kinda stopped caring when I heard about Pokemon X and Y and I didn't like Dragon Rulers' total dominance of the format, so I didn't play much of this game. But when Banlist season comes around it actually gets interesting.

So, as always, I have made my banlist predictions/wants and I thought it would be worth posting because so far the only banlist thread YCM has come up with is totally retarded (surprise, surprise). This is for serious discussion based on the meta only...

 

The list I created is a combination of actual predictions and things I think would make the game better, and I will try my best to make a distinction between the two. Cards on the list that are just wants will be in italics.

 

So, without further ado...

 

[spoiler=Banlist]

Banned:

(From Limited):

Return from the Different Dimension

Sixth Sense

Limiter Removal

Spellbook of Fate

 

Limited:

(From Banned):

Elemental HERO Stratos

Sinister Serpent

Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier

Solemn Judgment

 

(From Unlimited):

Abyss Sphere

Dragon Ravine

Sacred Sword of Seven Stars
Number 11: Big Eye Scream Cone

Vanity’s Emptiness

Skill Drain

Royal Decree

Rekindling

Evilswarm Ophion

Karakuri Shogun mdl 00 “Burei”

 

(From Semi-Limited):

Debris Dragon

 

 

Semi-Limited:

(From Limited):

Chaos Sorcerer

Gladiator Beast Bestiari

Gold Sarcophagus

One for One

Rescue Rabbit

Book of Moon

Formula Synchron

 

(From Unlimited):

Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders

Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos

Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls

Tempest, Dragon Ruler of Storms

E – Emergency Call

 

Unlimited:

(From Banned):

Glow-Up Bulb

 

(From Limited):

Burial from a Different Dimension

The Transmigration Prophecy

Wall of Revealing Light

Neo-Spacian Grand Mole

Thunder King Rai-Oh

Monster Gate

 

(From Semi-Limited):

T.G. Striker

Advanced Ritual Art

Magical Stone Excavation

Reasoning

[/Spoiler]

 

[Spoiler=Explanations]

A lot of the choices are fairly self-explanatory and don't need explanation, but I will explain the less obvious ones.

Limiter Removal - With the new Cyber Dragon and Geargia support coming out, I thought it would be better safe than sorry to say goodbye to this as it is obviously an OTK out of nowhere for those decks and is very degenerate. It is only a want as Konami will probably keep it around to push sales for the new stuff.

Spellbook of Fate - Most people will say banning it is too far, but I disagree. I hit this card in particular for Spellbooks because it creates a horrible game state where you have to play entire matches just playing around one card, and that card is just always there and always searchable, and its just plain broken. If it was just limited, Spellbooks still have the search/recycling power to get this thing back at least once every couple of turns, so limiting it would not be enough. It is broken, the rulings on it suck, it is quick-play (arguably the best card type in the game) and is waaay to versatile.

Skill Drain and Decree - Putting an curb on the "you can't play Yu-Gi-Oh any more" cards is something I strongly agree with, so limiting these along with the already limited Soul Drain, Macro and D-Fissure makes sense. Emptiness is more obvious but is there for basically the same reason.

Burei - I specifically predict a hit for this card so Konami can promote new ways of playing Geargia that don't revolve around spamming this guy with Karakuris. It would be the most profitable way for Konami to hit what would be a big threat post-January.

Trishula - The OCG got it back so its just a prediction really. I'm undecided as to whether it would be good or not. That being said, the decks that play it are generally non-linear and skill-based, so its a tricky one really.

Sinister Serpent - People will unthinkably scream "Mermail" as soon as they see this, but Mermails want to discard stuff that actually activates effects and furthers their game plan. You would rather see Serpent discarded from your opponent's hand than Dragoons or Gunde. Also, I've hit Mermails a bit anyway, so they could use a little something.

Glow-Up Bulb - Unlimiting a card straight from banned has never happened before, so this won't happen, but Bulb could in theory come back with Dragons gone, and it wouldn't make things all that broken, I think. Again, hard to predict the impact it would have.

 

I hit the Dragons the way I did so that the deck itself is dead, but the individual Rulers can still be splashed as an engine for otherwise mediocre decks, making them better. I don't think they would break anything if they were all at 2.

Most of the unlimits are stuff that shouldn't be there in the first place, or Konami seems to have forgotten they existed.

[/Spoiler]

 

This isn't quite perfect and is far from what the list actually will be, but theory is fun.

 

I agree for the most part.

 

Limiter removal should be banned because with power bond new Cyber Dragons will be ridiculous enough, limiter on top basically makes it game.

Return and Sixth Sense are obvious bans

I'd personally just have spellbook of fate limited, I know there are cards that easily recycle in spellbooks but at 1 it isn't too consistent of a threat after you initially get past it. 

 

I agree with all of your from banned semi-limited choices too, and most of the others. Although I don't think abyss sphere needs limiting so much as abysslinde, which is the main offender of any mermail deck. I also wouldn't limit dragon ravine, and I'd probably have rekindling at semi-limited, but that's just personal preference.

 

I think Chaos Sorcerer and Book of Moon are fine at 1. Chaos builds will be effective enough this format without yet another instant SS out of nowhere. 

E-Dragons each at 2 is a good call. 

 

Plant support is coming out and buffing them substantially, not so sure I like the idea of unbanning glow-up bulb, its a crazy card.

I wouldn't want thunder king at 3 either.

Otherwise, I'd say nice calls. 

 

I might add, Judgment Dragon at 2, and perhaps controversially just outright ban red-eyes darkness metal dragon. Stupid card is stupid. 

[Zauls]

I agree for the most part.

 

Limiter removal should be banned because with power bond new Cyber Dragons will be ridiculous enough, limiter on top basically makes it game.

Return and Sixth Sense are obvious bans

I'd personally just have spellbook of fate limited, I know there are cards that easily recycle in spellbooks but at 1 it isn't too consistent of a threat after you initially get past it. 

 

I agree with all of your from banned semi-limited choices too, and most of the others. Although I don't think abyss sphere needs limiting so much as abysslinde, which is the main offender of any mermail deck. I also wouldn't limit dragon ravine, and I'd probably have rekindling at semi-limited, but that's just personal preference.

 

I think Chaos Sorcerer and Book of Moon are fine at 1. Chaos builds will be effective enough this format without yet another instant SS out of nowhere. 

E-Dragons each at 2 is a good call. 

 

Plant support is coming out and buffing them substantially, not so sure I like the idea of unbanning glow-up bulb, its a crazy card.

I wouldn't want thunder king at 3 either.

Otherwise, I'd say nice calls. 

 

I might add, Judgment Dragon at 2, and perhaps controversially just outright ban red-eyes darkness metal dragon. Stupid card is stupid. 

 

I hit Sphere because its the general pattern that Konami tends to go by when hitting cards.

Bulb is an iffy one really. Konami may unban it to push sales for new Plant support, but they might equally put Lonefire to 2 or Formula to 2 or something. It's very hard to predict.

Thunder King was never really a problem and only went to 1 to sell Spellbooks. I don't see the point semi-limiting it because only very specific decks played more than 2, and they weren't ever that relevant, so there would be no point keeping it anywhere on the list.

Book of Moon should never have gone to 1 IMO. It's versatile and powerful but promotes skilful play since it's a -1 so you need to use it very well for it to be effective.

Chaos Sorc just isn't good enough to be at 1 really... I also think it will happen because of Wyburstar and whatever the other one is called have just come out fairly recently, so Konami can sell them and cards that work with them.

JD to 2 won't happen because Konami wants to sell new Lightsworn support. I definitely agree REDMD shouldn't exist and there is some evidence that it could get banned, but I don't see it as being very likely.

[Daigusto Sphreez]

Well I was more or less stating what I thought should be banned/limited personally.

 

However, from the Konami viewpoint that you have stated, I think your predictions are pretty much spot-on. 

[The Hounds Of Anubis]

If you're going to tell people to not be stupid, then why post a stupid banlist?

[the_engineer]

I hope they don't ban Royal Decree, i've just bought 3 of them for my Vylon deck D:

[Zauls]

If you're going to tell people to not be stupid, then why post a stupid banlist?

 

Please inform me of the grounds on which you justify the alleged stupidity of my banlist.

[The Hounds Of Anubis]

Sure.

 

First of all, a banlist should only really entail dealing with Dragons. Dragons are the only deck anyone should be using in the current meta because it's just leagues above the power level of everything else. Because of this one cannot actually determine precisely how the metagame would flesh out without them, and so having a banlist affect any other deck is entirely theory-based when the best banlists come from practice and testing.

 

That aside, I'll still adjust the changes I disagree with significantly.

 

Spellbook of Fate is one of the dumbest possible choices if you were to hit Prophecy at all, and Secrets is the only good choice for a hit and even then likely only a limit.

 

Solemn Judgment I disagree with on an (admittedly) theoretical level only. Judgment was always the anti-thesis to Heavy Storm and vice versa. They had a very interesting balance together in the same format which each allowed the other to exist in the same format. I'd say without both in the format (and Heavy-less has been much healthier so far) then neither should be. That said I couldn't fault anyone for putting it to one and it's not really a "dumb" aspect of the list, just a discussion point if anything.

 

Sinister Serpent doesn't seem like a particularly safe thing to bring back, but with more constant banlists I can see it getting the Tsukuyomi treatment (in a sense, at least. Test it at 1, and see if it's fine. Obviously this could never be at more than 1.)

 

Trishula... This just shouldn't come back. A banning should be due to overcentralisation or sheer overpoweredness or being an enabler for said overpoweredness. Trishula manages to hit 2 of these 3, all while being one of the easiest bosses to actually make in the game. I'm certain you played when Trishula was dominant and it was the only awful thing (minus Dustshoot) about Plants being king. That said if anyone makes an argument about its loops they should be shot since they're not important since they'd never own the competitive scene.

 

Hitting Abyss-Sphere. This is, again a Dragons thing. Since they're the dominant deck we have no real gauge on how powerful most other decks are. Sure, we can assume Prophecy are the second best deck, but past that it's absurd to consider hitting things from other decks. Least of all things being Sphere. Mermails are just about the only good deck I've had the actual experience playing in this format, and all I can say is Sphere isn't nearly as great as people make it out to be. Sure, it's powerful, anything that tutors for anything from the deck must be, but it's not broken in any way, and for that reason I don't see why it should be banned. It's a huge consistency engine for a deck which has a lot of lines of play. If anything it's a great skill-testing card. Obviously the best play with it is always Linde, but the plays off of her are always the difficult part. And as I said, it's not broken in any way so its limiting just wouldn't be justified.

 

Number 11. As I said earlier, the reason to hit cards is power level and ability to over centralise (and enabling, but this isn't an enabler.) Big Eye is just insane on both metrics. Any game with Big Eye revolves around it, and even then not for very many turns. It's either over immediately or over almost immediately. It's a simple ban and there's no reason to limit it in stead if you hit it at all. The thing is, hitting Dragons weakens it significantly. The choice is a simple 3/0 with Big Eye, no other option makes sense.

 

Vanity's Emptiness... This isn't even a good card, it's been a narrow solution due to the ridiculous things decks do, without the ridiculousness of Dragons this wouldn't even see any play whatsoever.

 

Skill Drain and Royal Decree: They don't say "you can't play yugioh". First of all, MST is at 3 and there's a ton of other options for S/T destruction. Second of all, forcing a player to adapt to a card that hampers their strategy isn't a bad or even oppressive thing. You have to design your deck so you're not affected by them either, which is the power of them being symmetrical, it's not like you can just throw them into any deck and expect them to be good, that's a sign of a good hoser, not a broken one. People also need tools to actually fight the meta, and Skill Drain is probably the best of these options in the right environment and rewards good deck building.

 

Ophion. Really, what? It's only as good as what it counters, and it's another good anti-meta card that players should be allowed access to. You seem to have this serious issue with not wanting to adapt your playstyle to what your opponent plays. Like, yeah it's hard to kill but it's not horribly overpowered and it's not too over-centralising in a format where it's easy to ignore levels altogether.

 

Burei just seems like a ridiculous addition for no reason. We have no idea if it will be a huge threat because we don't know how the meta without dragons will pan out.

 

Book of Moon. Honestly just not sure it's justifiable to put it to 2. I'd say it's pretty much the most powerful non-banned Spell in the game just because it has just about every possible interaction possible as its arsenal of tricks. People do tend to underestimate just how good Book really is.

 

E-Call to 2 just seems stupid. Stratos is a consistency element for the deck, seeing as Alius is the only monster that matters. Why bring one consistency element back and start taking away another? If there is a serious problem with Bubblebeat (which there isn't) then there are much better ways in which to deal with it.

 

Glow-Up Bulb is just the most insane synchro enabler ever and is almost definitely just overpowered especially with the whole Plant engine available.

 

Monster Gate and Reasoning at 3 seems risky. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love the cards and would love to play with the both at 3 but both of them (Monster Gate especially) have ridiculous power ceilings.

 

 

Think I got just about everything there that I have real issues with. Other choices here and there are odd but relatively fair. I do like the lowering of the limits on a lot of the cards you chose, though. When I said your list was dumb I may have overstated that (it was just too obvious a rhetoric to the tag), however I still disagree that your list is good.

[goddamnit names are a pain]

Ok, I strongly disagree with the fact that Dragons= other things shouldn't be hit.

These decks were around before Dragon Rulers, and should be hit. Just because Dragons are the best doesn't mean other decks shouldn't get hit. That's terrible logic.

[The Hounds Of Anubis]

How is it flawed when we have no idea how the metagame would actually pan out without Dragons?

[Delibirb]

I would be slightly surprised if Konami bans Sixth Sense. It is very early in its TCG existence and they are still profiting from it enough that they may want it around until the next banlist.

 

I'm worried about Grand Mole at 3, but that may just be a personal thing.

 

I hope One for One comes back, because then Dustons may have a better shot at tier.

 

And Ruler Decks will still exist with them at 2 and could potentially retain their strength with more room for other cards, such as your suggested unlimited Burial and semi'd Gold Sarc.

 

But I would say even if I dont like some of the predictions, most of them are probably accurate.

[Zauls]

Yeah, saying a deck isn't as good as Dragons therefore doesn't need attention is not the right way to go about it. We should learn from previous formats and predict degenerate things that will happen in an upcoming format, and stop them before they are given an opportunity to make the game worse. The only reason Mermails haven't done much is because of a bad Dragon match-up. That doesn't mean to say they still aren't broken.

 

I think Serpent is a pretty safe thing to bring back as it does little apart from being discard fodder. As I said before, I would rather my opponent discard Serpent than Dragoons or Dandylion etc.

 

Trishula, as previously stated, is just a prediction.

 

Abyss-Sphere was hit because I think Mermails should be hit and may be hit. Sphere was my choice in particular because it simply follows Konami's pattern of hitting stuff that Special Summons from the Deck, which Sphere does.

 

Big-Eye was a difficult one to decide, and I suppose limiting it wouldn't be that effective since summoning one successfully gives you a much higher chance of winning, so you don't need more than 1. I just don't expect Konami to ban it though.

 

Emptiness has to be hit because of the silly Spark Dragon or Key Beetle locks. Also, even without the locks, Emptiness is chainable and shuts down a lot of decks. Sure, MST exists, but you don't draw it all the time... That's like saying CED is bad because I will Bottomless it...

 

I have already given a reason for Burei as well as Book of Moon.

 

I can also proceed to turn your Skill Drain and Decree argument upside-down: You say that players can adapt their decks to get round these cards, which is true. However, having to alter your deck specifically because your opponent can blindly flip a Trap Card that otherwise shuts down your deck means that these cards carry too much weight and make it too easy for a possibly less skilful player to win. The meta can be fought with cards that make you think about the use of your resources, rather than using a "one card stops everything" approach.

 

Ophion is because there is quite a lot of Level 5+ stuff coming out in the new sets, and Konami needs to sell them. They aren't making much profit off Evilswarms any more.

 

Burei is more of a want, because I don't want the meta to be broken by Geargia/Karakuri with the new support that is coming out. I also think Geargia Gear will be hit perhaps in the next again list.

 

I put E-Call to 2 because 3 E-Call with Stratos would probably be too much. 

 

I might have been a little biased with Bulb, so I might just take that off and leave it banned.

 

Monster Gate and Reasoning haven't done anything significant for years now, so I don't see how bringing them back would not be safe. I can't think of any truly competitive applications for them that would win duels.

[goddamnit names are a pain]

How is it flawed when we have no idea how the metagame would actually pan out without Dragons?

There was a game without Dragons. Am I the only one who remembers it?

And cards also play the same often, with or without Dragons. Them winning fast does not mean that certain decks don't do what the normally do. In fact, Dragon Rulers primarily trash the field your opponent sets up. They don't often actually stop any plays, bar Crimson Blader.

Really, what I'm trying to say is that Prophecy, Mermail, and Fire Fist are popular, below Dragon Rulers. They still have their share of cards that need to be hit, and so do Dragon Rulers.